CLIENT PROFILE

A little about Steve’s background …..

Before moving into the Solar Power and Battery Storage industry I had been an IT Engineer / Server Technician and Electronics Technician for more than 15 years.

This change of direction came from my increasing disappointment around how it was quickly progressing into a “dump and run” industry because computers and other related products were no longer being repaired; they were just being dumped.

This practice didn’t align with my core values.
I wanted to move into an industry where I could make a difference and focus on sustainability so people could become conscious of their carbon footprint and their energy consumption.

So I re-trained to be a Solar Power and Battery Storage expert and we were designing our own high efficiency solar panels, battery solutions, and EV charging solutions and supplying our technology to other electricians and solar companies around NZ.

To date we have a 100% client satisfaction rating from ALL of our customers.

Why do you do what you do?

I enjoy helping people and helping make the world a better place.

Nowadays more so than ever people need to be more conscious of their daily energy consumption and where that energy is coming from.

People today are paying the HIGHEST price for their fuel than ever before and those costs are only scheduled to keep rising in the future.

We all need to drastically reduce our carbon emissions to less than HALF of what they are now, and as quickly as possible.

At HiTek Solar we take our social responsibility extremely seriously.

Success highlights to date

We’re had a few firsts – First NZ Tigo Energy Partner, First NZ Tigo Energy Solar Panel Testing Site to name just a few but one of our next critical milestones is our new “Solar Shed / Solar Power Station”.

This will be the First 100% Solar Powered EV Fast Charge Site in NZ to be able to fast charge an electric vehicle (EV) without needing to buy any power from the grid during this charging.

Success is never a straight line – what lessons have you grown from?

Providing amazing customer service and listening to customer feedback is critical.

Always look at where the REAL ISSUES are in the market and where the holes are with what everyone else is offering.

Don’t take NO for an answer, just because someone says you can’t do something doesn’t mean you SHOULDN’T do it.

Technology is always changing and evolving every month, so be a leader and expert in your field, rather than just a follower.

Just because everyone else is doing the same thing doesn’t mean it’s the best way or the RIGHT WAY / THING to be doing.

Partnering up with other experts in their own fields is key and one that has brought my company great success. Design solutions to last 10-25 years not just 2-5 years.

How has working alongside Accounting One helped your business?

Dale and the Accounting One team have been amazing to deal with.

I didn’t take the task of looking for a new accountant lightly and I interviewed 4 other top recommended accounting companies.  After a referral from a friend and mutual client of Accounting One’s I took their advice and met with Dale and the team.

Ironically Dale was also interested in knowing more about our solar systems (to consider having his office solar powered) so it ended up a great match.  He had a genuine interest in what my company offers and the technology solutions we promote for his own business.

As a result he had a genuine interest to really understand my company and our vision of where we are going over the next 2-5 years time.

For me this was different from every other accounting company which just wanted to treat my company as another client no different from the rest.

Having an accountant that really understands your company and is working to help give you best tax advice to help save you money who is also in line with your personal and company goals is a real blessing.

If your accountant gives you incorrect advice it can easily cost you $100k (or more) in the year as a result of paying for things more than you should be or not claiming correctly as you should be.  This also relates to doing things in an inefficient manner.

Accounting One is the best money we have ever spent on any accountant.  The  advice we’ve received has been so far ahead of what any other accounting firm has given us it’s just not even in the same ballpark.

Accounting One is genuinely interested and passionate about seeing my company grow and he loves our innovation and solutions.  That means a lot when your accountant actually has your best interests at heart instead of just worrying about their own wallet.

In business I like to achieve a WIN-WIN situation where everybody wins and for the first time ever we’ve found an accountant where we can achieve this so I could not ask for more.

Your vision for the future?

Providing innovative Solar Power and Battery Storage and EV charging solutions to our clients and striving to reduce the price per kW hour of electricity to all of our clients in addition to saving them a noticeable real world savings on their monthly bills.

It’s not just about the money for me at all (I don’t do it for the money), but in saying that you can’t help save the world if your company is going broke either, so it’s still critical to make smart business decisions.

For me I do what I do because I love making a difference in people’s lives (genuinely helping people) and being able to help change the world (in a good positive way also).

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First of all let’s start with your WHY!! By understanding your why gives you a solid foundation within your business, whilst giving you a sense of why you do what you do it gives you a clear path for where the business is going.  

People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it – Simon Sinek

Without clarity on your direction we just drift along and ‘react’ to life’s urgencies – which may feel like priorities however they are typically ‘things’ that just pop up.

Most people spend some much time planning things like holidays, but no time planning the most important things – their business and their life. By setting your goals, you can pinpoint exactly what you want to achieve, stop yourself from becoming sidetracked and assess how and where your priorities are changing as you progress.

There are 3 key steps for business success and growth…

1. Map
2. Move
3. Measure

Map

Without direction and clarity how do we expect to achieve our objectives in business (or life for that matter)? Do you have a business map/ plan? If so do you refer to it and use it regularly? Is your ‘map’ on a one page document?

What is your ‘why’? What drives you? We at Accounting One help our Clients establish their business ‘map’, and get clarity on their why. It is essential that you take time out of your business to develop your map of where you would like to be in 3 years, 1 year and then you have certainty on what needs to happen each quarter to achieve your overall vision.

Having your map gives you a better managed business/ life. Enabling you to have time with your family, taking regular holidays, giving you higher profits, team engagement, better client relationships and regular cash flow through you business.

By keeping your map (vision) on a simple easy to use one pager, keeps it top of mind not only for you but for your whole team. Everyone within your ogranisation knows what their KPIs are, giving a visual accountability and clarity of what the vision is.

Move

The best laid plans are useless without implementation. Too often we have witnessed amazing visions/ goals and good intentions fade into thin air. Does ring a bell with you? We have seen many businesses come along to a strategy session,  have amazing learnings, then go back to the normality of life, back to the comfort zone or back to drowning in the reality of constant interruptions.

With having ‘business map’ and knowing what 1-3 projects you need to execute each quarter in order to step towards your overall vision – putting things in the right place.

Don’t be one of those people that look back in years to come, having drifted through life; instead be that person that creates everything by design.

Implementation and accountability are key factors – both on the Director level and within your teams.

Measure

What is the point of not knowing where you are at and not marking every milestone. What gets measured gets managed! Knowledge helps us manage fear and also empowers us.

Having an honest look at where you are at (much like the Michael Jackson’s song – ‘The man in the mirror’), is an absolute must. No matter how scary it may initially be…

We all need to know where we are at with our KPIs and track how we are progressing.

Tracking your KPIs every month gives you the awareness of your weakness and achievements – this will give you the opportunity to rectify the weak points and enhance/ continue on with what is working.

Mind

Overall we all need to be true to ourselves – with having and engaging in the right mindset. We create our own reality. Limiting decisions are like poison – eliminate these completely. So if you are sitting there wondering how you arrived at where you are at in the present state, we encourage you to expand your thoughts and know that absolutely anything is possible, by way of just the right mindset, mapping it, moving it and measuring it. Live the life of your dreams and have the business that gives you abundance.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs

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How AIM works

AIM uses new functionality included in approved accounting software to work out payments. You can continue to use another provisional tax option if you think your business won’t suit AIM. It will suit your business if:

• your business is growing
• you’re new to business
• you have irregular or seasonal income
• it’s hard to forecast your income accurately
• you have accounting software or want to start using accounting software.

Once you’ve opted in to AIM you’ll only pay provisional tax when your business makes a profit. This will help you to avoid cash flow problems.

As long as you make your payments in full and on time, there is no exposure to use-of-money interest. If your business makes a loss you can get your refund straightaway rather than waiting until the end of the year.

Start-up and ongoing costs to businesses

We’ve worked to make sure AIM doesn’t increase ongoing compliance costs and is simple for you to use during the year. AIM will help you spend more time on your business instead of worrying about tax bills.

Check you’re eligible to use AIM as a provisional tax method

Source: IRD

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Year end is approaching, so understanding where YOU ARE is so important! Here is a simple year-end checklist to make filing easier.

• Decide on employee bonus payments and withhold the required tax
• Pay your vendors and contractors in full by year end
• Scrutinize your balance sheet and P&L for what you did well – and what you didn’t
• Check out your income statement to see your profitability
• Use your cash reports to understand how much cash you have on hand
• Add up your quarterly estimated tax payments for the year
• Review all information about current and past employees in your payroll system
• Review insurance policies, cover and rates
• Confirm your tax deadlines – these vary depending on the structure of your business
• Arrange a meeting with Accounting One
• Use accounting software to accurately estimate how much tax you will have to pay
• Think about whether you’ll need to request a tax payment extension
• Review your client list, and make sure all contact information is up-to-date
• Review your goals for the year – and make some new ones for next year

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Money in, money out. Cash flow is one of the most important measures of your business’s health. But how do you monitor it?

It sounds simple to track sales on the one hand and expenses on the other – then compare the two. But a massive 65 percent of failed businesses say they closed down because of financial mismanagement, including issues such as lack of cash flow visibility. In other words, they didn’t know if they were making more than they were spending.

Why are people losing sight of cash flow?

Everyone knows a business needs to stay in the black. It’s not a new idea. So it can be hard to imagine why a business would lose sight of cash flow. Until, that is, you’re in business yourself. It’s then that you realise tracking small business cash flow isn’t as easy as it seems.

You have to:

• keep track of all your expense receipts
  (which gets really tricky if there are multiple people making purchases)
• record all your sales revenue
  (making sure to account for discounts you might have given)
• enter everything into your cash flow Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet
  (including double and triple checks to make sure everything is entered correctly)

You may have to rely on employees or business partners to supply a lot of this information. Their paperwork will sometimes have scribbled notes in the margins, requiring a follow-up phone call. It takes a lot of time, patience and energy before you’re even ready to punch the numbers into a spreadsheet.

Data entry slows you down

Your cash flow Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet is probably a monster. The number of columns and rows will have grown substantially since you first set out on your own. Plugging in the numbers takes time, and a lot of it. Unfortunately it’s not a job you can rush because you need the spreadsheet to be as accurate as possible.

The large amount of time required results in two common issues:

• The task gets pushed back repeatedly so you go for long periods without knowing your cash flow position.
• Because there are gaps in your data, you’re not able to see how the business performs from day to day.

Mistakes creep in

No matter how much you slave over your spreadsheet, there’ll be mistakes. Up to 90 percent of spreadsheets contain data entry errors. You’ll find the big ones because the numbers will look wrong and so you’ll trawl through to find the cause. It’ll be slow, frustrating work but you’ll probably weed them out in the end. The smaller mistakes are more likely to sneak through, where they’ll add up, bit by bit, to undermine your data. It’s not great for your confidence.

Cash flow information is old before you see it

Even if you’re vigilant, there’s a lag between when a sale or expenditure happens and when it’s entered into your cash flow Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet. And you still won’t “see” it until you create charts or graphs from those spreadsheets. In this scenario, you’re taking a series of snapshots of your cash flow, and there can be big blind spots in between.

As business picks up – with more sales and more expenditure happening all the time – those blind spots become more significant.

• More things happen in between each cash flow snapshot.
• Cash flow snapshots get further apart because you’re too busy to update spreadsheets.

Cash flow is about more than red and black

There are many reasons why you need to know your cash flow situation. Obviously you have to understand if you’re making money or losing it. That’s the most basic form of cash flow visibility. But there’s more to it than that.

If you can see your cash flow in detail, you can spot opportunities, or troubleshoot problems before they become too big.

If you’re seeing profit spikes during certain periods, you could:

• bring in more staff to help maximise those opportunities
• think of ways to cross-sell or upsell those customers
• consider marketing campaigns that will bring those customers back during slow times

If revenue is flat during certain periods, you could:

• run sales promotions
• experiment with different products or services
• reorganise staff schedules to lower your expenses during those times

Cash flow visibility is a strategic advantage. By understanding how revenue and expenses change from day to day, you can tweak your business model to find what works best for your situation.

Step away from the spreadsheet

Spreadsheets are remarkable tools. They’re by far the world’s most common accounting software. And for micro-businesses with relatively limited activity, they’re a good fit. But as you perform more transactions with more customers and vendors, they get in the way of cash flow visibility, cutting off your view of the business’s health.

To see if spreadsheets are fit for purpose in your business, ask yourself these questions:

• Are they getting hard to maintain?
• How confident are you in the data that’s been entered?
• Do you actually know what your small business cash flow looks like?

There are cost-effective alternatives. Accounting software will eliminate the data entry and give you a daily view of small business cash flow – on your desktop or phone.

Accounting software automatically calculates your cash flow, showing a summary of money in and money out. It will even tell you what you’re owed and which bills are coming due.

Here’s how it works

Cloud accounting software is generally sold on a flat monthly subscription. You don’t need to download anything and you can run it easily off your existing laptop, desktop or smartphone. You just sign up online and get started.

• It can link to your business bank account (and point-of-sale system) to track sales and expenses as they happen, with no data entry from you.
• Because the data comes straight from the bank, it’s clean and accurate.
• Smart accounting software will also send out your invoices, so it shows what you’re owed.
• The system pools all the data to create a dashboard of your financial situation, which is automatically updated every day.

Accounting software probably only needs to save you one or two hours a month to pay for itself. In reality, it will do that many times over.

Small business cash flow is everything

Money in and money out is the ultimate measure of business health and sustainability. You should watch it carefully, even if that means manually updating your cash flow Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet. The effort is well worth it.

If, however, you’d rather spend the time on other parts of your business – or with your family – take a look at cloud accounting software. It can automate the process for you. That’s why 98% of users of accounting software recommend it to others.

Contact the team from Accounting One today to help you rocket to success with your cloud cash flow.

Source: Xero

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Are you drowning in sea of numbers? Needing to work on your ‘numbers’ muscle?  Let Accounting One create a financial forecasting system that keeps your head above water.

A good budget is a necessity in a good business plan. It is one of the best business tools we have, allowing us to set financial targets and measure our performance.

The techniques we utilize in the formation of financial projections will allow you to consider future scenarios and give you goals to strive for in your business. Your financial forecasts paint a clear picture of what areas of business you can improve, release, build and maintain.

How many times have you said to yourself – I wish I knew what’s working and what’s not working?  With financial forecasting you can.  You’ll gain clarity and direction because it’s not just number crunching, it’s an integral part of your business strategy.

In addition to goal setting value, budgets will often improve your chances of acquiring funding as financers often require forecasts as a prerequisite for funding approval. Cashflow forecasting is a vital part of ensuring that your business will always have the cash it needs, because profits don’t pay bills – cash does.

There are many types of budgets and we can help you design the right budget for your needs and requirements. Let us show you how a budget and a cashflow forecast are able to provide feedback to allow you to prepare for the future of your business. Remember, a problem shared is a problem halved.  Providing invaluable solutions is part of what we do best.

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So, with just a few weeks remaining until Christmas, there’s just enough time to make sure your business digital marketing initiatives are prepared for the Christmas season.

Regardless of whether your business sells gifts, professional services or trades, here are some digital marketing tips that can be useful in the final weeks before Christmas.

For Social media campaigns
There are more posts, shares, and comments during the Christmas holidays than any other time of year and each passing year more people are using mobile devices to shop online, access websites and find deals and gift ideas.

If your business sells products or services that can be bought as gifts, make a social media schedule, and prepare Christmas themed social media images and advertising. This will include special Christmas deals, season countdowns, and feel-good festive stories.

Queuing your social media posts in advance is a great option for decreasing your stress. Social media platforms offer the option of future queuing your posts. This will help you keep in touch with your customers throughout the crazy season without manually posting each time. You may want to continue it into the New Year so that you aren’t working over Christmas.

If your business will be closed for a period, you can set an auto-reply in Facebook Messenger to inform people when they send a Facebook message to your business.

For AdWords campaigns
If your business will be closed over the Christmas break, or running on skeleton staff, remember to turn off your Adwords ads or scale them down during that time. However, if you do have staff available, AdWords campaigns can be highly profitable during that time, as many businesses turn off their campaigns. This means you can often gain cheaper and more profitable leads during that time.

If your business sells gifts, you should consider adjusting your AdWords budget to match increased search queries before Christmas. Search growth peaks in this season for products and services. Evaluate your historical performances in Google AdWords & Analytics from last year and accordingly adjust the budget to build on your best-seller campaigns.

Adapt text ad content to advertise Christmas promotions. Ensure remarketing tags are active and conversion tracking is all working in the place for Christmas campaigns. Also, make sure you measure ROI so that you can analyse what worked, what didn’t and do more of whatever worked!

If you need to allow for shipping times, it’s a good idea to promote strongly near the start of December – don’t wait until it’s too late. Shipping timeframes become a major concern for almost every online customer leading up to Christmas, so advertise early to get those sales.

For email campaigns
People are looking for last-minute bargains around this time and emails can be effective to attract your subscribers/listed customers. According to McKinsey & Company, email marketing is three times more effective than social media, and the average customer order is 17 percent higher.

If you’re selling products or services that can be gifts, then send at least two emails during December (preferably more) to promote the products or services you’re featuring over the Christmas season and spread the word. Have a look at what other businesses in your field are doing. Sign up for mailing lists of your competitors and visit websites.

This season is competitive time for email marketers. Customers in boxes will be full of offers and updates, so you will have to be prepared to compete for attention. Look at your data and see what tactics yielded the best open and clickthrough rates last year. The subject line is a key factor in whether a recipient will even open your email, so make it punchy and intriguing enough to get those opens.

And if you’ll be closed over the Christmas holidays, make sure you send an email to your customers to let them know what dates you’ll be closed, and emergency contact details if needed.

Google My Business hours and posts
If your business is listed on Google Maps (and it should be!) then you’ll have a Google My Business listing.

If you have special opening hours leading up to Christmas, or have dates that you’ll be closed over the Christmas break, make sure you enter these details into your listing. When you login to Google My Business just enter these different times in the “Special Hours” section.

There is also a little-known feature that Google realised earlier this year that is perfect for highlighting announcements. It’s called Google My Business Posts.

Google My Business posts last for a week, making it perfect for events, guides, products and more. Small businesses can use these posts to announce new daily promotions, highlight newest products or best-sellers and even holiday closing periods. These posts can have up to 300 words of text, an image, a title and a range of call to action buttons. These posts show up on Google search as well as Google Maps, depending on the nature of the query and the nature of the post.

So, if you have special promotions or events leading up to Christmas, you should use this feature. It’s free – just log into Google My Business and click on dashboard to make a post.

Embrace digital marketing in the festive season
Christmas is an important time for small businesses. If you’re selling gifts, then be sure to apply these tips to get the most out of your digital channels to increase sales and revenue during this season. If you’re not selling gifts, these tips can still help you keep strong relationships with your customers.

Embrace the festive season and its spirit, and keep winning customers with well-planned digital marketing…

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Reference http://wbn.co.nz/2017/11/27/digital-marketing-tips-christmas/

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Ever wondered what good governance looks like?

Think about governance in the same light you would about bringing a good rugby team together and getting them to win.  Both involve dedication, preparation and outcome focused selection to put the right players in the right positions.

For every rugby team, there are different things that need to come together on the day of a match if the team wants to play its best and win.

But, before the big match, the team also needs to practice hard, develop its skills and fitness, know the rules of the game, and learn to work together on the field. It’s more than a game of two halves. It needs a strategic coach, and a skilled captain who knows how to put the coach’s game plan into operation. If all of these things come together, then the team has a good chance of playing well and winning the game.

The team also needs to maintain its performance over the whole year, not just for one game. The players have to keep working on their skills, and if something goes wrong during a match, the coach, captain and team have to work together to fix the problem so they can get back to their best form for the next match.

There are a lot of parallels between the way a rugby team works and the way governance works in your organisation.

1. Strategic Coach

Rugby Coach sets the strategy, objectives, timing and direction.  They know what game to prepare for the most, who needs to improve their performance and what needs to happen to succeed.

The Coach has one eye on the conditions and one eye on the scoreboard.  Their job is to look at how they can learn from the past to put into practice strategies and actions to improve future results.  They need to have a firm grasp of the laws of the game and work within certain constraints but also make the most of every opportunity.  For good governance you need a good Board/ Directors to set great strategy to drive business growth and monitor performance regularly.

2. Richie Can Teach Us a Lot

Take a look at one of the best captains the All Blacks have ever had – Richie McCaw.  This guy knows about vision, values and about keeping his team focused and motivated.  He doesn’t say much, but he demands respect because he “walks the talk”.

He doesn’t try and do everyone’s job thinking he’s the best at everything, basically because he doesn’t have an ego.  He proudly excels at this role, implements strategy, gets team buyin and leads the way.  Do you have a captain on your team who does the opposite?  Do they think they’re experts at everything constantly changing organisational structures (or the team plan) regularly?  If you do, it’s time to replace him with a Richie or help him or her to become one!

3. Creating A Game Plan

The most essential component to any team, be it rugby or good governance, is that everyone has an understanding of where they stand.  This includes clarity around every role and where each individual’s responsibilities lie.  This allows you to move swiftly “past a knock on” or a “forward pass”.  It means your defensive and offensive systems and processes are in place to drive growth and success.  The strategy lies with the team but the success of the strategy relies on the whole team playing their part and putting in the hard yards.

Better still, at selection phase, ensure each team member hits your criteria and you know exactly where to place them when it comes to game day.

4. Teamwork

Last but not least, is understanding that teamwork is what will drive good governance.  You have to know your strengths and weaknesses, threats and opportunities.  You’re not going to put a hooker in as a fly half in your rugby team, why would you do any differently when it comes to running a successful business?

You can’t afford to carry anyone.  Play to each individual’s strengths and drive it home.  Lay down the ground rules and the laws of the land but remain flexible enough to switch out players if you need to.

If you’re the coach, do you have a “strong forward pack to win the scrum”?  Are your team reliable in the “lineout to win the ball”?  Appraisals and reviews are there for a reason. They’re critical observations to be done regularly so you’re focused on what your players can and cannot do.  It’s up to you to take advantage of your team’s talents and minimize their weaknesses.

Good governance relies on the same thing a good rugby team does when it comes to winning. You need a strong team, clear vision and values, rules and laws, assigned positions and tactical strategy.

With Accounting One whether you want to win the World Cup or the local league we’ll keep you firmly on track to take home the final prize.

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Consumers can interact with a brand in more ways than ever before. They might browse your online shop, visit a physical store, see a print brochure, hear an ad on the radio, or reach you through an app.

When you promote products through several of these avenues, you’re omnichannel marketing. BigCommerce takes that definition a little further. They encourage small businesses to sell their goods through multiple online channels, including big online marketplaces like Facebook, Pinterest, Google Shopping, Amazon and eBay.

It’s a great business move. Imagine how much extra brand exposure and revenue it could bring. And best of all, it won’t cost you much effort or money. If you have the right ecommerce platform, you can run all your storefronts from one dashboard.

Why it works for small business

Omnichannel marketing helps you cast a wider net. When people go to their favourite shopping sites – the places they visit most – you’ll be there. It’s accessible, affordable online marketing for small business that will get a lot more eyeballs on your products. On top of that, you’ll take advantage of the reputations those sites have for reliable shipping and trusted payment gateways.

While your personal ecommerce site will always be the main hub of your business’s online activity, it makes sense to try and reach more customers by using popular online marketplaces. Here’s how to do it without creating a heap of extra work for yourself.

Facebook shop

Many businesses already have a Facebook page running alongside their own website. As you add content to your Facebook page and build an audience, you should think about how to convert those followers into paying customers. Don’t complicate things by sending them to your website to buy products. Let them make the purchase right there on Facebook.

It’s a really simple way to boost online marketing for small businesses who already have a Facebook page. To set up your shop, go to your company Facebook page, click the Shop section and add photos and details of your products. Customers who already ‘like’ your page will see when you upload new products. You can also use Facebook’s cost-effective advertising options to reach new customers.

• Check out BigCommerce’s guide to Facebook marketing

Putting your products on Facebook can increase sales, boost brand recognition and win you more ‘likes’. It’s quite easy to make your Facebook shop consistent with your brand through the use of cover, product and profile images.

Tech accessories company, Native Union, saw an immediate impact when they opened a Facebook shop. “It represents an additional channel to help new customers discover our brand,” says owner, Tanya Keller. “Facebook drives awareness for our products, and increases traffic to our store.”

Native Union’s Facebook shop has increased ecommerce traffic.

Pinterest

If you think of Pinterest as just a home to inspiration boards, think again. With 100 million active monthly users, it’s fantastic online marketing for your small business. You can post products there for members to pin or buy. And buy they do:

• 93% use Pinterest to plan purchases
• 87% have made a purchase because of Pinterest

Pinterest also allows users to save shipping and payment info, so browsers are only ever two clicks away from making a purchase.

A versatile ecommerce platform will integrate easily with Pinterest. That will allow you to run your Pinterest store and the shop on your business’s website from one place.

Google Shopping

Selling on Google extends your reach to customers around the world. It also highlights that you’re a local shop when someone in the area is searching for products.

Baby-goods maker, Organic Munchkin, tripled their revenue stream when they signed up to the service. Founder and CEO, Peter Baseio, says it brought in customers they never knew they could reach.

“Google Shopping allows our products to be listed in a more natural format, increasing brand awareness for our niche market.”

When using the service, you get access to a number of promotional tools, such as AdWords, shopping campaigns, remarketing tools, and product ratings.

To get started, set up a Google account then log into the Google Merchant Center to upload your product details. If you’re using BigCommerce for your website’s store, you can just transfer that same inventory to your Google store. Any changes you make to your website shop will automatically update to Google as well.

Setting up a Google Shop is easy with the right small business ecommerce platform.

Amazon and eBay

Amazon is the world’s most popular marketplace, with 45% of shoppers starting their product search there. eBay boasts 162 million shoppers and makes it incredibly easy to sell and track inventory.

One of the difficult things about online marketing for small businesses is finding an audience. You’re competing against big online retailers with huge ad spends and high Google rankings. Using online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, with their built-in audience of eager buyers, can level the playing field.

The Dairy Fairy uses Amazon for search purposes, but still pushes their own ecommerce store. Owner, Emily Ironi, says it’s doubled their sales.

“What that tells me is that there’s a whole slew of people who didn’t know I existed until they saw me on Amazon. It’s working way better than a Google search for me.”

She says it’s really important for small businesses to maintain their own retail presence as well.

“I find that it’s still critical to have your own shop too. You have a lot more control over everything – and also your interaction with customers. It’s about finding that perfect balance.”

It’s not as easy to brand your Amazon or eBay storefront as it is with other online marketplaces. However, you can run these storefronts with the same ecommerce platform that you use for your own website – making it easy to track orders and manage inventory.

Make it easy on yourself

Omnichannel marketing sounds great, but how do you keep up with it all? Running one online shop is tough enough.

Fortunately you can manage multiple storefronts from one place. The Channel Manager from BigCommerce, for example, gives you a single dashboard to control all your storefronts – including your own website and multiple online marketplaces.

Using a single piece of software for everything makes it simpler to:

• monitor and manage inventory
• keep a single database of all your customers – no matter where they bought your product

No matter where you make a sale, you can process it, fulfill it and track it from one central location. You’ll extend your reach and revenue potential without adding to your workload. It’s the ultimate in online marketing for small businesses that are short on time and budget.

Bring it all together

Integration is the key when thinking about omnichannel marketing. Your ecommerce platform should be able to manage multiple shopfronts – and it should plug into your accounting software too. That way your revenue and tax data will be processed as you go.

Once you have a system like this set up, a big chunk of your business will be automated. You can stay on top of everything by checking a few dashboards and confirming stock orders.

Online marketing for small business is getting easier

Today’s consumers value convenience and flexibility. No one gives them that more than big online marketplaces which offer:

• trusted payment gateways
• swift delivery
• masses of products

Why not post your products there and cash in on the opportunity?

Just be aware that omnichannel marketing is about more than setting up multiple storefronts. Think of it as creating a brand experience that reaches customers wherever they are. It’s important to use consistent messaging across channels, giving customers a similar brand experience regardless of how they purchase your products.

Source: www.xero.com

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Better budgeting in any business pays off.  It allows you to plan ahead, save for the future and make better business decisions which in the end is invaluable to how successful your business will be.  Clever budgeting and cashflow forecasting helps you understand your actuals versus your estimates so you can reap those financial rewards you work hard for.

Why is budgeting so important? – Tip 1

Budgeting and cashflow forecasting is similar to strategic planning. It gives you beneficial insights into what is really going on in your business; rather than guessing or estimating.  Your accountant is the one who can help you identify serious overspending or unnecessary spending and help you put a realistic budget together.

Being able to understand if you have enough money coming in to expand, recruit another staff member or invest in marketing means you have to have a budget and a forecast so you can make smarter decisions on when to move and when to stick.  It’s having the ability to plan ahead and know when to take action.

How do I budget? – Tip 2

There are many ways to set up a budgeting system but with clever software this job has now become a lot easier for many business owners.  Smart online software has become almost intuitive because the better information you put into it; the better information you can extract.

Being able to read all the numbers can take a bit of preparation and help from your helpful accountant but once you’ve got a hang of it, we think you’ll actually start enjoying running off monthly or daily reports that help you keep a sharp eye on things. It’s a good idea to have a regular day of the month or week to run off all your reports and if anything scary jumps out at you then your accountant is only a phone call away to help get it sorted, and usually very quickly.

Even a simple spreadsheet with ins and outs at the beginning of your start up is better than nothing because you really do need to get your head around the numbers if you want to keep your head above water.

Revenue versus Expenses = Profit – Tip 3

At start up phase it’s harder to predict what your profit will be but never be afraid to ask the experts because it’s highly likely they’ve worked with a similar business before.  The key to any business is to make it as highly profitable as you possible can and that’s why budgeting and forecasting are so important.

You need to know what’s coming in but also what’s going out to reach that profit number.  If you’re spend is bigger than your revenue, then that is a sign things need to change.  Once again expert advice will help you “see the woods for the trees” and is always a great investment for your business success.  If you’re unsure of your market and how it acts during different seasons or months of the year do as much research as you possibly can and talk to those in the know. For some, school holidays are when it starts to quieten down whereas for others it may be boom time.  It’s not about gazing (or dreaming) into a crystal ball, it’s about getting those cold hard facts together.

Review, Review, Review – Tip 4

Some businesses review once a year whilst others review every month.  It’s a good idea to review on a more regular basis, especially for small businesses because business can be volatile and unexpected, large costs can throw out that balance sheet by quite a lot.

If you are caught out by a nasty surprise work on a plan to increase your revenue and/or cut back your costs.  Because you have a budget and forecast you have all the information on hand to act faster.

One way to cut back costs is to review your suppliers and see where you can get even better value for your money.  This procurement process is very helpful and it allows you to seek beneficial opportunities with key suppliers who are normally more than happy to negotiate a lower price so you become a long-term customer.  What you’re looking for is the best deal in town.

To increase revenue, review your prices or rates to see if you’re charging enough or if you can, go back and do some remarketing with your loyal customers.  There are many ways to use a review and all of them require clever budgets and forecast reporting as a starting point.

Ask for Help – Tip 5

We’re always surprised when people say they would have come and seen us earlier to help with their business budgeting or forecasting only they were too embarrassed.  We would much rather help businesses out at the beginning only because it makes your life easier.  It is hard work running a business and you can’t be expected to be the expert at everything.  It’s impossible.

Over time you will gain confidence with your numbers and knowing who is the best person to help out where but only if you ask.  In New Zealand we’re a bit too proud and sometimes stubborn, but once you find a great accounting team, they’re like your personal financial help heroes saving you precious time and money.

At Accounting One we’re a very passionate team who want to help you get your head around budgets and forecasting because we are driven to help you succeed.  To get started book in for your one-hour consultation and we’ll help you boost profits and maximise your growth potential.

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